JP7729010B2 - Logistics matching system, logistics matching method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a logistics matching system, a logistics matching method, and a program.

Technology has been known in the past for matching parties ordering transportation and delivery in logistics with parties receiving orders, such as shipping companies (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-259522

In conventional technology, there are cases where the winning bid price for a logistics request is not appropriate. It is desirable that the winning bid price be automatically determined to an appropriate amount, for example.

A logistics matching system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit that acquires multiple pieces of bidding information for logistics requests, and a determination unit that determines the winning bid amount to be an amount higher than the lowest bid amount indicated in each of the multiple pieces of bidding information acquired by the acquisition unit, and the determination unit determines the winning bid amount by determining an amount to be added to the bid amount submitted by the bidder based on information about the bidder providing the bidding information.
A logistics matching system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit that acquires multiple pieces of bidding information for logistics requests, and a determination unit that determines the winning bid amount to be an amount higher than the lowest bid amount indicated in each of the multiple pieces of bidding information acquired by the acquisition unit, and the determination unit determines the winning bidder based on the information of the bidder providing the bidding information, assuming that the bidder has bid an amount lower than the actual bid amount.
A logistics matching system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit that acquires multiple pieces of bidding information for logistics requests, and a determination unit that determines the winning bid amount to be an amount higher than the lowest bid amount indicated in each of the multiple pieces of bidding information acquired by the acquisition unit, and the determination unit determines the winning bid amount based on information about a successful bidder that is determined from the bidders who provide the bidding information.
A logistics matching system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit that acquires multiple pieces of bidding information for logistics requests, and a determination unit that determines the winning bid price to be an amount higher than the lowest bid amount indicated in each of the multiple pieces of bidding information acquired by the acquisition unit.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the winning bid amount for a logistics request can be automatically determined to be an appropriate amount.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a bidding system according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing of the bidding system according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an order DB according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bid DB according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a process for determining a successful bidder and a successful bid amount according to an embodiment.

The following describes embodiments with reference to the drawings. The descriptions in this specification are subject to compliance with the legal requirements of the country or region in which the technology described herein is implemented.

<System Configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the system configuration of a logistics matching system according to an embodiment. In the following description, the logistics matching system 1 will be referred to as a bidding system 1 as appropriate. In FIG. 1, the bidding system 1 includes an information processing device 10, an order terminal 20A, an order terminal 20B, an order terminal 20C, a bidding terminal 30A, a bidding terminal 30B, and a bidding terminal 30C. In the following description, when the order terminals are not distinguished, any one of the multiple order terminals will be referred to as 20. In the following description, when the order terminals are not distinguished, any one of the multiple bidding terminals will be referred to as 30. The number of order terminals 20 and the number of bidding terminals 30 are not limited to those shown in FIG. 1 . At least one of the information processing device 10, the order terminal 20, and the bidding terminal 30 may be part of the logistics matching system according to an embodiment.

The information processing device 10 and the ordering terminal 20 are connected via a network N. The information processing device 10 and the bidding terminal 30 are connected via a network N. The network N includes, for example, one or both of networks N such as the Internet and a mobile phone network.

The ordering terminal 20 is an information processing device operated by an orderer who places an order for logistics work such as the transportation and delivery of luggage. The orderer is, for example, a shipper. The bidding terminal 30 is an information processing device operated by a bidder who places a bid in response to an order placed by the orderer. The bidder is, for example, a transportation and delivery company.

The information processing device 10, for example, conducts competitive bidding based on an order from the client and matches the client with the bidders by determining the bidders who meet the conditions. The successful bidder is called, for example, the successful bidder, contractor, or recipient. The term "order" may be interpreted as "request" or a synonym thereof as appropriate in this specification.

<Hardware configuration>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of an information processing device according to an embodiment. The information processing device according to an embodiment may be referred to as a terminal or a computer system. The information processing device may be a stationary computer such as a desktop PC, a portable computer such as a laptop, a tablet, or a smartphone, or may include other types of computers. Here, the information processing device in FIG. 2 is assumed to be the information processing device 10 shown in FIG. 1. The hardware configurations of the order terminal 20 and the bidding terminal 30 shown in FIG. 1 may be the same as or different from the hardware configuration of the information processing device 10.

The information processing device 10 comprises a drive device 100, an auxiliary storage device 102, a memory device 103, a CPU 104, an interface device 105, a display device 106, and an input device 107. Each of these components is interconnected by a bus B.

The information processing device 10 executes various processes in accordance with a program. The program that causes the information processing device 10 to execute processes is provided by a storage medium 101. The storage medium 101 includes, for example, a portable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD disk, or a USB memory. When the storage medium 101 storing the program is inserted into the drive device 100, the program is installed from the storage medium 101 to the auxiliary storage device 102 via the drive device 100. The auxiliary storage device 102 retains the stored information even when, for example, the power supply is cut off. The auxiliary storage device 102 includes, for example, a rewritable storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or flash memory.

The installed program may be provided by a method other than that using the storage medium 101. The various programs according to the embodiment may be provided from another computer via a network. The auxiliary storage device 102 may store other information related to the program that causes the information processing device 10 to execute processing. The auxiliary storage device 102 may store information used in processing in the information processing device 10, or may store information generated by processing in the information processing device 10. The storage medium 101 and the auxiliary storage device 102 are each computer-readable storage media.

When an instruction to start a program is received, the memory device 103 reads and stores the program from the auxiliary storage device 102. The CPU 104, for example, realizes functions related to the information processing device 10 in accordance with the program stored in the memory device 103. The interface device 105 is used as an interface for connecting to a network. The display device 106 is a display that displays a graphical user interface (GUI) or the like according to a program. The input device 107 accepts information input, for example, by being operated by a user. The input device 107 includes, for example, a mouse, a touchpad, or a keyboard. The display device 106 and the input device 107 may be integrated into a touch panel.

<Functional configuration>
Next, a functional configuration of the bidding system 1 according to the embodiment will be described. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the information processing device 10 according to the embodiment.

The information processing device 10 has a memory unit 11, a transmission/reception unit 12, an acquisition unit 13, a setting unit 14, a determination unit 15, and a control unit 16. Each of these units is referred to as a functional unit as appropriate. At least one of the above functional units may be realized by cooperation between one or more programs installed in the information processing device 10 and a general-purpose processor (e.g., CPU 104) of the information processing device 10. At least some of the above functional units may be realized by an application-specific integrated circuit.

The memory unit 11 stores various information related to bidding. The memory unit 11 includes, for example, an order database 111 and a bid database 112. In the following description, the database will be referred to as DB where appropriate.

The transmission/reception unit 12 communicates with the ordering terminal 20 and the bidding terminal 30. The acquisition unit 13 acquires data transmitted and received by the transmission/reception unit 12 and data stored in the memory unit 11.

The setting unit 14 sets various information related to bidding. The determination unit 15 determines various information related to bidding. The control unit 16 controls each unit of the information processing device 10.

<Processing>
Next, an example of processing of the bidding system 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of processing of the bidding system 1 according to the embodiment. Note that the order terminal 20 and the bidding terminal 30 may each be authenticated by user authentication or the like and be able to access the information processing device 10. For example, a user may be able to log in to an account managed by the information processing device 10 by providing identification information and a password for the account via the order terminal 20.

In step S1, the ordering terminal 20 accepts an ordering operation from the orderer. The ordering terminal 20 accepts input from the orderer, such as order details for logistics-related work. The term "work" may be interpreted as business, processing, work, or synonyms thereof, as appropriate in this specification.

Then, the ordering terminal 20 transmits the order information to the information processing device 10 (step S2). The order information includes, for example, order identification information, orderer information, order content, and bidding deadline information. The order information may not include at least one of these pieces of information, or may include information different from these pieces of information. The order identification information is identification information that allows each order to be distinguished from other orders. In the following description, the identification information will be referred to as an ID as appropriate. The order ID may be generated by the ordering terminal 20 based on an orderer ID for distinguishing the orderer, the order time, etc. The orderer ID may be an ID used when logging in to an account managed by the information processing device 10 from the ordering terminal 20.

Orderer information is information about the orderer. Orderer information may include information such as the orderer's name, address, and telephone number. Order details are the details of the logistics work that has been ordered. Order details may include the conditions for performing the work. For example, order details may include information indicating the cargo to be transported or delivered, the location of the delivery source, the date and time (deadline) for picking up the cargo at the delivery source, the location of the delivery destination, the date and time (deadline) for delivering the cargo to the delivery destination, and information indicating at least one of the range of remuneration for transportation or delivery (range of acceptable bid amounts). Information indicating the range of remuneration includes information specifying either or both of the upper and lower limits of the remuneration. For example, information indicating the range of remuneration includes either or both of the upper and lower limits of the remuneration. Information indicating the range of remuneration does not have to include either or both of the upper and lower limits of the remuneration. For example, information indicating the range of remuneration may include a base value for the remuneration and a range relative to the base value. For example, if the standard value of the remuneration is 100,000 yen and the range for the standard value is 30,000 yen, the range of the remuneration is specified as 70,000 yen or more and 130,000 yen or less. The bidding deadline is the deadline for accepting bids. The order information may not include some of the various information described above, or may include information different from the various information described above.

The control unit 16 of the information processing device 10 then records the received order information in the order DB 111 (step S3). Figure 5A is a diagram showing an example of the order DB 111 according to an embodiment. In the example of Figure 5A, the order DB 111 stores orderer information, order details, and bidding deadlines in association with an order ID. Note that at least a portion of the information (e.g., orderer information) stored in the order DB 111 shown in Figure 5A may be pre-registered in the information processing device 10.

Returning to the explanation of Figure 4, after processing step S2, the transmitter/receiver unit 12 of the information processing device 10 transmits at least a portion of the information included in the order information to each bidding terminal 30 (step S4). For example, the information processing device 10 transmits to each bidding terminal 30 the order information excluding the remuneration range specified by the purchaser, the purchaser's telephone number, etc.

Next, each bidding terminal 30 determines the bid amount, etc. based on the received order information (step S5). For example, the bidding terminal 30 determines the bid amount based on the dates and times indicated in the order details, the number of personnel performing transportation and delivery, vehicle availability, and the order frequency of other projects predicted by AI, etc. If the dates and times indicated in the order details fall within a specified period (e.g., a busy season), the bidding terminal 30 may determine the bid amount to be higher than if the dates and times indicated in the order details fall outside the specified period. The bidding terminal 30 may also determine the bid amount in other ways. For example, the bidding terminal 30 may determine the bid amount to be the amount specified by the bidder.

Next, each bidding terminal 30 transmits bidding information, including information such as the bid amount, to the information processing device 10 (step S6). The bidding information includes, for example, an order ID, a bid ID, bidder information, and bid details. The order ID is the order ID included in the order information received by the bidding terminal 30. The bid ID is identification information for the bid. The bid ID may be generated by the bidding terminal 30 based on a bidder ID for distinguishing bidders, the time of bidding, etc. For example, the bidder ID may be information required for authentication when logging in to an account for a service provided by the bidding system 1.

Bidder information is information about the bidder. Bidder information includes, for example, information such as the bidder's name, address, and telephone number. Bid details may include the terms of the order presented by the bidder. For example, bid details may include information such as the bid amount.

The control unit 16 of the information processing device 10 then records each received bid information in the bid DB 112 (step S7). Figure 5B is a diagram showing an example of the bid DB 112 according to an embodiment. In the example of Figure 5B, the bid DB 112 stores bidder information and bid details in association with a pair of an order ID and a bid ID. Note that at least a portion of the information (e.g., bidder information) stored in the order DB 111 shown in Figure 5A may be pre-registered in the information processing device 10.

Returning to the explanation of Figure 4, the information processing device 10 determines the successful bidder and the winning bid amount based on each piece of bidding information (step S8). For example, the setting unit 14 sets at least some of the conditions for the winning bid, and the determination unit 15 determines the winning bid amount and the successful bidder based on each piece of bidding information that matches the conditions set by the setting unit 14. An example of the processing of step S8 will be described later with reference to Figure 6. In this specification, the winning bid amount corresponds to the value that the client of the work plans to pay as compensation for the work, and may differ from the amount of compensation offered by the successful bidder as a condition for accepting the order.

The conditions for a successful bid include, for example, the range of bid amounts that can be accepted. For example, the above-mentioned purchaser information includes information that specifies the range of remuneration, and the setting unit 14 sets the conditions for a successful bid using the purchaser information. The determination unit 15, for example, determines as the successful bidder the bidder who has submitted the lowest bid amount among the bid amounts indicated in the bid information that match the conditions set by the setting unit 14. Furthermore, the determination unit 15 determines as the successful bid amount an amount higher than the lowest bid amount among the bid amounts indicated in the bid information that match the conditions set by the setting unit 14.

Next, the transmitter/receiver unit 12 of the information processing device 10 transmits a successful bid notification to the bidding terminal 30 of the bidder determined as the successful bidder (step S9). Here, the successful bid notification may include, for example, information on the determined successful bid price.

Then, the transmitter/receiver unit 12 of the information processing device 10 transmits the winning bid information to the order terminal 20 (step S10). The winning bid information includes, for example, the identification information of the successful bidder and information on the determined winning bid amount. The winning bid information does not have to include one or both of the identification information of the successful bidder and information on the determined winning bid amount. The winning bid information may include information different from both the identification information of the successful bidder and information on the determined winning bid amount. For example, the winning bid information may include a code required to access the identification information of the successful bidder and information on the determined winning bid amount.

Next, an example of the processing of step S8 in Figure 4 will be described with reference to Figure 6. Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of the processing for determining the successful bidder and the winning bid amount according to the embodiment.

In step S101, the setting unit 14 sets a range of acceptable bid prices based on the order information received from the ordering terminal 20. The setting unit 14 sets an upper limit and a lower limit of acceptable bid prices as the range of acceptable bid prices. Next, the determination unit 15 excludes bid information with bid prices outside the range of acceptable bid prices (step S102). For example, the determination unit 15 extracts bid information received from each bidding terminal 30 that has a bid price within the range. The determination unit 15 may treat bid information with a bid price within the range as valid and bid information with a bid price within the range as invalid. By setting a range of bid prices in this way, intentional or negligent bids such as 1 yen or 10 times the normal bid price can be filtered out in advance. This can reduce, for example, bids being awarded at prices that are not profitable for logistics companies (dumping, etc.).

Next, the determination unit 15 determines the bidder with the lowest bid amount as the successful bidder (step S103). For example, the determination unit 15 identifies the bid information with the lowest bid amount from the bid information extracted in step S102. The determination unit 15 determines the bidder indicated in the identified bid information as the successful bidder. If there is multiple bid information with the same bid amount, the determination unit 15 determines the bidder indicated in the bid information with the earliest date and time acquired by the acquisition unit 13 as the successful bidder. If there is multiple bid information with the same bid amount, the determination unit 15 may determine the successful bidder from the multiple bidders indicated in the multiple bid information with the same bid amount using information other than the date and time the acquisition unit 13 acquired the bid information. For example, the determination unit 15 may determine the successful bidder using information about the bidder (e.g., the bidder's work performance, level of safety management).

The determination unit 15 then determines the winning bid amount to be an amount higher than the lowest bid amount (step S104). For example, the determination unit 15 determines the winning bid amount to be an amount higher than the lowest bid amount among the bid amounts indicated in each piece of bid information extracted in step S102. For example, the determination unit 15 selects the winning bid amount from the bid amounts indicated in each piece of bid information extracted in step S102, excluding the lowest bid amount. For example, the determination unit 15 determines the second lowest bid amount among the bid amounts indicated in each piece of bid information extracted in step S102 as the winning bid amount. In this way, the determination unit 15 may use the bid amounts indicated in each piece of bid information extracted in step S102 as a population and select the winning bid amount from this population.

The determination unit 15 may calculate the winning bid amount using one or more bid amounts included in the population as parameters. For example, the determination unit 15 may calculate the average of two or more bid amounts included in the population and determine this average as the winning bid amount. The determination unit 15 may perform an operation including at least one of the four arithmetic operations on one bid amount included in the population and determine the result of the operation as the winning bid amount. The coefficients used in the four arithmetic operations may be fixed values or variable values. If a successful bidder is determined before the winning bid amount, the variable value may be determined based on information about the successful bidder. The determination unit 15 may determine the winning bid amount to be an amount higher than the lowest bid amount, including bid amounts outside the range of bid amounts. The bidding system 1 may not include the setting unit 14, and the processes of steps S101 and S102 may not be executed. The determination unit 15 may determine a successful bidder excluding bid information whose bids are determined to be invalid, and may determine the winning bid amount excluding bid information whose bids are determined to be invalid. The determination unit 15 may determine the successful bidder by excluding bid information for which the bid is determined to be invalid, and may determine the successful bid amount using bid information for which the bid is determined to be valid and bid information for which the bid is determined to be invalid.

In an embodiment, the determination unit 15 determines the winning bid price to be higher than the lowest bid price indicated in each of the multiple bid information. This, for example, reduces winning bids at prices that put pressure on business (e.g., unprofitable bids) and reduces practices such as cutting back on logistics operators' wages and benefits, which is expected to improve the quality of services in transportation and delivery, etc. Furthermore, if the winning bid price for a bidder is higher than the bid price, it is expected that bidding will be promoted. When bidding is promoted, for example, the number of bidders who are potential winners increases, improving the success rate of matching orders with orders. This, for example, prevents logistics operators who can perform transportation and delivery from waiting without an opportunity to receive an order, improving the utilization rate of logistics operators. Therefore, stable logistics can be expected to be maintained, even in societies with a declining labor force. Furthermore, improving the success rate of matching may, for example, allow contractors to reduce the cost of securing logistics operators. The bidding system 1 according to the embodiment automatically executes at least a part of the process related to matching orders and orders as described above, which can reduce the human burden involved in matching. Furthermore, since matching can be performed more quickly than when the process is performed by a human, the chances of missing the timing of receiving an order are reduced.

The setting unit 14 may set only the upper limit of the acceptable bid amount, or may set only the lower limit of the acceptable bid amount. If the client specifies a range of remuneration, the setting unit 14 may set the range of acceptable bid amounts based on the specified range of remuneration. For example, if the client specifies only the upper limit of the remuneration, the setting unit 14 may set the upper limit as the upper limit of the range of acceptable bid amounts.

The setting unit 14 may infer a range of market prices for bids and use the inferred range as the range of possible winning bids. For example, the setting unit 14 may derive the range of bids using an inference model that uses machine learning such as deep learning. This inference model is obtained by machine learning using learning data in which, for example, information indicating the content of work previously ordered is used as input data and the winning bid amount is used as output data. The machine learning may be performed by an information processing device included in the bidding system 1, or by an information processing device external to the bidding system 1. The bidding system 1 may include a memory unit that stores at least one of information on work previously ordered, information on bids for this work, and information on winning bids for this work. The memory unit may provide information used in the machine learning to the information processing device that performs the machine learning.

The setting unit 14 may not use purchaser information or may use information other than purchaser information in the process of setting the conditions for successful bids. For example, the setting unit 14 may use bid information to set at least a portion of the conditions for successful bids. For example, the setting unit 14 may calculate a range of possible successful bid prices using statistical values of multiple bid prices indicated in multiple pieces of bid information. The statistical values include, for example, at least one of the mean, median, mode, standard deviation, and variance. The setting unit 14 may calculate the average of the multiple bid prices as the reference value for the range of bid prices, and calculate a predetermined ratio of the average value as the width (full width or half width) of the range of bid prices. For example, if the average bid price is 100,000 yen and the predetermined ratio is 25%, the setting unit 14 may calculate the half width of the range of bid prices to be 50,000 yen, and the range of bid prices to be between 50,000 yen and 150,000 yen. The information processing device 10 may not set the conditions for successful bids, and may not be equipped with the setting unit 14.

The determination unit 15 may select the winning bid amount from the bid amounts excluding the lowest bid amount among the bid amounts indicated in each of the multiple pieces of bid information. Here, it is assumed that the bid amounts indicated in the multiple pieces of bid information are 10,000 yen, 30,000 yen, 70,000 yen, and 80,000 yen, respectively. The determination unit 15 excludes the lowest bid amount of 10,000 yen and selects the winning bid amount from 30,000 yen, 70,000 yen, or 80,000 yen. For example, the determination unit 15 determines the Nth lowest bid amount among the bid amounts indicated in each of the multiple pieces of bid information as the winning bid amount. N is an integer equal to or greater than 2 and is set arbitrarily. N may be a fixed value, a variable value, or may be specified in the order information. If N=2, the determination unit 15 determines the second lowest bid amount, 30,000 yen, as the winning bid amount.

The determination unit 15 may calculate the winning bid amount from the bid amounts excluding the lowest bid amount among the bid amounts indicated in each of the multiple bid information. For example, the determination unit 15 may calculate the average of the bid amounts excluding the lowest bid amount, and determine the average amount or a value obtained by rounding the average amount as the winning bid amount. For example, the determination unit 15 may exclude the lowest bid amount of 10,000 yen, and determine the winning bid amount to be 60,000 yen, which is the average of the bid amounts of 30,000 yen, 70,000 yen, and 80,000 yen.

The determination unit 15, for example, determines the winning bid price by excluding bid prices outside the range set by the setting unit 14 from among the bid prices indicated in the multiple bid information. For example, the determination unit 15 may invalidate bids with bid prices outside the range set by the setting unit 14 and determine the winning bid price. Here, the range set by the setting unit 14 is assumed to be 20,000 yen or more. The determination unit 15 may exclude 10,000 yen, which is a bid price outside the range, and determine the winning bid price to be an amount higher than the lowest of the remaining bid prices of 30,000 yen, 70,000 yen, and 80,000 yen. For example, the determination unit 15 may exclude bid prices outside the range from among the bid prices indicated in each of the multiple bid information and determine the Mth lowest amount as the winning bid price. M is an integer equal to or greater than 1. M may be a fixed value, a variable value, or may be specified in the order information. When M = 1, the determination unit 15 excludes the bid price of 10,000 yen and determines the winning bid price to be the lowest bid price of 30,000 yen.

The determination unit 15 may determine the winning bid amount using a function and change the function based on the bid information acquired by the acquisition unit 13. For example, the first function is a function that excludes bid amounts outside the range set by the setting unit 14 from the bid amounts indicated in the multiple bid information, identifies the lowest bid amount from the remaining bid amounts, and determines the identified amount as the winning bid amount. If there are no bid amounts outside the range set by the setting unit 14, and the determination unit 15 uses the first function, the winning bid amount will be determined to be the lowest bid amount from the multiple bid information. In such a case, the determination unit 15 determines the winning bid amount using a second function different from the first function so that the winning bid amount is higher than the lowest bid amount from each of the multiple bid information. The second function is, for example, a function that excludes bid amounts outside the range set by the setting unit 14 from the bid amounts indicated in the multiple bid information, identifies the Mth lowest bid amount from the remaining bid amounts, and determines the winning bid amount, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2. The second function may be a function that determines the successful bid price without excluding bid prices outside the range set by the setting unit 14 from among the bid prices indicated in the plurality of pieces of bid information.

The function for determining the winning bid amount is not limited to the above example and may be determined arbitrarily. For example, the first function may be a function that calculates the winning bid amount (e.g., the average of the bid amounts) from two or more bid amounts indicated in multiple pieces of bidding information, and the second function may be a function that selects the winning bid amount from two or more bid amounts indicated in multiple pieces of bidding information. If the successful bidder is determined before the winning bid amount, the determination unit 15 may determine the winning bid amount based on the information about the successful bidder. The information about the successful bidder may include at least one piece of information about the track record of work that the successful bidder has previously received, the number of times that the successful bidder has previously won bids, and safety management when the successful bidder performs the work.

The conditions for switching the function for determining the winning bid amount are not limited to the above example and can be determined arbitrarily. The condition for switching the function may be a condition related to the number of bids received this time. For example, the determination unit 15 may determine the winning bid amount using a first function when the number of bids is less than a threshold, and may determine the winning bid amount using a second function when the number of bids is equal to or greater than the threshold. The conditions for switching the function may include a condition related to the work to be ordered. The conditions for the work to be ordered may include a condition related to at least one of the importance, difficulty, and priority of the work. If the successful bidder is determined before the winning bid amount, the conditions for switching the function may include a condition related to the successful bidder. The conditions related to the successful bidder may include a condition related to at least one of the successful bidder's track record of work received in the past, the number of times the successful bidder has won bids in the past, and safety management when the successful bidder performs the work. For example, the second function may be a function that determines a winning bid amount to be higher than the first function. The determination unit 15 may determine the winning bid price using a first function if the level of safety management when the successful bidder performs the work is below a threshold, and may determine the winning bid price using a second function if the level of safety management when the successful bidder performs the work is above the threshold.

The determination unit 15 may determine the winning bid amount based on the second lowest bid amount among the bid amounts indicated in each of the extracted multiple pieces of bid information. In this case, the determination unit 15 may determine the second lowest bid amount as the winning bid amount, or may determine the amount calculated using the second lowest bid amount as a parameter as the winning bid amount. The determination unit 15 may determine the winning bid amount using a calculation method depending on the number of pieces of extracted bid information. When the number of bids is small, the variance in bid amounts may become large, and for example, the difference between the lowest bid amount and the second lowest bid amount may become large. In such a case, the determination unit 15 may switch the logic for determining the winning bid amount (e.g., function, formula for calculating the winning bid amount) depending on the number of pieces of bid information so as to determine the winning bid amount taking into account the variance in bid amounts (e.g., the difference in bid amounts).

For example, if the number of pieces of extracted bid information is one, the determination unit 15 may determine the winning bid amount based on the bid amount indicated in the bid information. Furthermore, if the number of pieces of extracted bid information is two, the determination unit 15 may determine the winning bid amount based on the average of the bid amounts indicated in the two pieces of extracted bid information. Furthermore, if the number of pieces of extracted bid information is three or more, the determination unit 15 may determine the winning bid amount by excluding the lowest bid amount.

The determination unit 15 may determine the winning bid price according to the degree of discrepancy between the lowest bid price and the second lowest bid price. The degree of discrepancy may be, for example, the ratio between the lowest bid price and the second lowest bid price, or the difference between the lowest bid price and the second lowest bid price. If the degree of discrepancy is equal to or greater than a threshold, the determination unit 15 may determine the winning bid price based on the average value of the lowest bid price and the second lowest bid price. Here, the ratio between the lowest bid price and the second lowest bid price is the degree of discrepancy, and the threshold value is 1.4. If the lowest bid price is 100,000 yen and the second lowest bid price is 200,000 yen, the degree of discrepancy is 1.5, which is equal to or greater than the threshold. In this case, the determination unit 15 may determine the winning bid price to be 150,000 yen, the average value of the two bid prices.

The determination unit 15 may determine the winning bid amount based on the bid amount by each bidder and the bidder information. For example, the acquisition unit 13 may acquire bidder information from the bid DB 112 shown in FIG. 5B, and the determination unit 15 may determine the winning bid amount using the bidder information acquired by the acquisition unit 13. For example, the determination unit 15 may determine a first amount (e.g., the second lowest bid amount) as the winning bid amount when the bidder information does not satisfy a predetermined condition, and may determine a second amount higher than the first amount as the winning bid amount when the bidder information satisfies the predetermined condition.

For example, the bidder information may include information indicating whether the bidder has implemented a vehicle status monitoring system that monitors the vehicle status (e.g., maintenance status), and the above-mentioned specified conditions may include a condition that the vehicle status monitoring system has been implemented. Furthermore, the bidder information may include information whether the bidder has implemented a health status monitoring system that monitors the health status (e.g., break taking status) of personnel engaged in transportation and delivery, and the above-mentioned specified conditions may include a condition that the successful bidder has implemented a health status monitoring system. Furthermore, the bidder information may include information whether the bidder has implemented a driving status management system that manages the driving status of vehicles used for transportation and delivery, and the above-mentioned specified conditions may include a condition that the successful bidder has implemented a driving status management system. The information indicating the driving status may include information regarding the vehicle's behavior and information regarding specific driving operations.

The bidder information may also include information indicating whether the vehicle used by the bidder for transportation and delivery complies with exhaust gas regulations, and the specified conditions may include a condition that the vehicle used by the successful bidder for transportation and delivery complies with exhaust gas regulations.The bidder information may also include information regarding the performance of the vehicle used by the bidder for transportation and delivery, and the specified conditions may include a condition that the performance of the vehicle used by the successful bidder for transportation and delivery meets standards.The information regarding the vehicle performance may also include information regarding autonomous driving performance, and may include the number of accidents per mileage for vehicles of the same model.

The bidder information may also include information indicating the number and type of incidents the bidder has had in the past during a specified period, and the specified condition may include a condition that the number and type of incidents the successful bidder has had in the past during a specified period are below a certain standard. Incidents may include dangerous driving behaviors such as forward collision warnings, impacts, and following distance warnings. Incidents may also include violations of laws and regulations such as looking away, stopping, and speeding. Incidents may also include non-eco-driving driving maneuvers such as sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, and abrupt steering.

The determination unit 15 may determine the successful bidder based on the bid amount and bidder information of each bidder. For example, the acquisition unit 13 may acquire bidder information from the bid DB 112 shown in FIG. 5B, and the determination unit 15 may determine the successful bidder using the bidder information acquired by the acquisition unit 13. For example, the determination unit 15 calculates an index value using the bid amount and bidder information, and determines the successful bidder using a ranking of the index values. The index value is calculated, for example, by using the bid amount as a reference value and subtracting the reference value when the various specified conditions described above are met. For example, if the bid amount is 100,000 yen, the reference value is 100,000 points, and if one of the specified conditions described above is met, the index value is calculated as 95,000 points, which is the reference value minus 5,000 points. The determination unit 15, for example, uses the index value instead of the bid amount and determines the bidder with the lowest index value as the successful bidder. In this case, a bidder whose bidder information satisfies the above-mentioned predetermined conditions is treated as having bid a lower amount than the actual bid amount in the process of determining the successful bidder, increasing the probability that the bidder will be determined as the successful bidder. The index value is used to determine the successful bidder, and the successful bid amount is determined using the actual bid amount. A bidder whose bidder information satisfies the above-mentioned predetermined conditions is, for example, a reputable business operator with high quality service, and this embodiment can increase the probability that a reputable business operator will win the bid.

The determination unit 15 does not have to determine the successful bidder. The information processing device 10 may generate a list of bidders using the bidding information acquired by the acquisition unit 13 and provide the generated list to the order terminal 20. The purchaser may select a successful bidder from the list of bidders displayed by the order terminal 20. The order terminal 20 may notify the information processing device 10 of the selected successful bidder. The information processing device 10 may narrow down the candidates for the successful bidder from multiple bidders indicated in multiple pieces of bidding information and provide information on the candidate successful bidders to the order terminal 20. For example, the information processing device 10 may generate a list of candidate successful bidders, selecting the bidder with the lowest bid amount through the bidder with the Kth lowest bid amount as the candidates for the successful bidder. K is any integer greater than or equal to 2 and may be a fixed value or a value specified in the order information. The determination unit 15 may determine the successful bid amount before the successful bidder is determined. The determination unit 15 may extract bidding information whose bid amount is lower than the determined successful bid amount and determine a successful bidder from the bidders of the extracted bidding information. The determination unit 15 may extract bidding information whose bid amount is lower than the determined successful bid amount and provide a list of bidders of the extracted bidding information to the ordering terminal 20 as a list of candidates for the successful bidder.

The bidding system 1 may determine that the bid is not successful if the bid information does not satisfy the acceptance conditions. The acceptance conditions include, for example, a condition that the number of bid information pieces acquired by the acquisition unit 13 during a specified period is equal to or greater than a specified value. The specified value is a value that is set arbitrarily and may be 1 or 10. Here, it is assumed that the specified value is 1. The determination unit 15 determines that the bid is not successful if the number of bid information pieces acquired by the acquisition unit 13 is 0. The acceptance conditions may include conditions other than the number of bid information pieces acquired by the acquisition unit 13, and may include, for example, a condition that the number of bid information pieces with bid amounts within the range of bid amounts set by the setting unit 14 is equal to or greater than a specified value.

If the bidding system 1 determines that a successful bid has been made, it may change the conditions for accepting bids and accept bids again. For example, the bidding system 1 may accept bid information after setting the bid price range to a private state using the setting unit 14, and if it determines that a successful bid has been made, it may accept bid information after setting the bid price range to a public state using the setting unit 14.

The non-disclosure state is a state in which the range of bid prices is not disclosed to bidders who provide bid information. When the non-disclosure state is set, the transmitter/receiver 12 transmits order information that does not include information about the range of acceptable bid prices to each of the multiple bidding terminals 30 in the processing of step S4 shown in FIG. 4. The information processing device 10 may obtain order information that includes the range of acceptable bid prices from the order terminal 20, and provide order information that does not include the range of acceptable bid prices to the bidding terminal 30.

The above-mentioned public state is a state in which the range of bid prices is not made public to bidders who provide bidding information. After the information processing device 10 executes the processing of step S4 in FIG. 4 in the private state, if the decision unit 15 determines that the bid is unsuccessful, the setting unit 14 sets the state to the public state and executes the processing of step S4 again. If the private state is set, the transmission/reception unit 12 transmits order information including information on the range of acceptable bid prices to each of the multiple bidding terminals 30 in the processing of step S4 shown in FIG. 4.

If the range of acceptable bid prices is not made public, bid prices will not be influenced by the range of bid prices, and fairness between the purchaser and bidders is maintained. Furthermore, if the range of acceptable bid prices is made public, those considering bidding can refer to this information to make it easier to decide whether to bid and what price to bid. According to the above-mentioned form, fairness between the purchaser and bidders can be maintained when the range of acceptable bid prices is kept private, and by setting the range to public when it is determined that a bid is not successful, those considering bidding can be provided with information to help them make a decision.

Note that the bidding system 1 does not have to set the bid to public status if it determines that the bid is unsuccessful. Regardless of the processing to be performed when it determines that the bid is unsuccessful, the bidding system 1 can maintain fairness between the purchaser and the bidder by setting the bid to private status.

<Modification of system configuration>
Each functional unit of the information processing device 10 may be realized, for example, by cloud computing provided by one or more computers. Furthermore, the order terminal 20 and the information processing device 10 may be integrated into one device. At least one storage destination for information according to the embodiment may be a single storage device or may include multiple storage devices. At least one storage destination for information according to the embodiment may be a distributed ledger. The bidding system 1 may store order information and bid information in a distributed ledger. The information processing device 10 may provide, as a successful bid notification, an order ID of the order information stored in the distributed ledger to a bidding terminal 30 associated with the bid information corresponding to the successful bidder among the bid information stored in the distributed ledger. The information processing device 10 may provide, as successful bid information, the order ID of the order information stored in the distributed ledger and at least a portion of the bid information corresponding to the successful bidder among the bid information stored in the distributed ledger to the order terminal 20 associated with the order ID. The distributed ledger may include a part of the bidding system 1 (e.g., a storage unit of the information processing device 10).

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the aspects described in the above-mentioned embodiments. One or more of the requirements described in the above-mentioned embodiments may be omitted. Furthermore, the requirements described in the above-mentioned embodiments may be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, to the extent permitted by the laws and regulations of the country or region to which this specification applies, the disclosures of all documents cited in the above-mentioned embodiments are incorporated by reference and made part of the description of this specification.

1 Bidding system 10 Information processing device 11 Storage unit 111 Order DB
112 Bidding DB
12 Transmitting/receiving unit 13 Acquiring unit 14 Setting unit 15 Determining unit 16 Control unit 20 Ordering terminal 30 Bidding terminal

Claims (13)

an acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of pieces of bidding information for requests related to logistics;
a determination unit that determines a winning bid price to be higher than the lowest bid price indicated in each of the plurality of bid information items acquired by the acquisition unit,
the determination unit determines the successful bid price using a first function when the number of bids for the request is less than a threshold, and determines the successful bid price using a second function different from the first function when the number of bids is equal to or greater than the threshold ;
the first function is a function that excludes bid amounts outside a set range from among the bid amounts indicated in the plurality of pieces of bid information, identifies the lowest bid amount from among the remaining bid amounts, and determines this amount as the successful bid amount;
The second function is a function that, when M is an integer equal to or greater than 2, excludes bid amounts outside a set range from among the bid amounts indicated in the plurality of pieces of bid information, identifies the Mth lowest bid amount from among the remaining bid amounts, and determines this amount as the successful bid amount.
Logistics matching system. an acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of pieces of bidding information for requests related to logistics;
a determination unit that determines a winning bid price to be higher than the lowest bid price indicated in each of the plurality of bid information items acquired by the acquisition unit,
When a successful bidder is determined before the successful bid price, the determination unit determines the successful bid price using a first function if the information of the successful bidder does not satisfy a predetermined condition, and determines the successful bid price using a second function if the information of the successful bidder satisfies the predetermined condition;
the first function is a function that excludes bid amounts outside a set range from among the bid amounts indicated in the plurality of pieces of bid information, identifies the lowest bid amount from among the remaining bid amounts, and determines this amount as the successful bid amount;
The second function is a function that determines a winning bid price higher than the first function.
Logistics matching system. The logistics matching system of claim 2, wherein the information about the successful bidder includes at least one of the following: the bidder's track record of past work orders, the number of times the successful bidder has won bids in the past, and safety management when the successful bidder performs the work. the determination unit selects a winning bid price from bid prices excluding the lowest bid price among the bid prices indicated in each of the plurality of pieces of bid information.
3. A logistics matching system according to claim 1 or 2. a setting unit for setting a range of bid prices;
the determining unit determines the successful bid price by excluding bid prices indicated in the plurality of pieces of bid information that fall outside the range set by the setting unit.
3. A logistics matching system according to claim 1 or 2. a setting unit for setting a range of bid prices;
the determining unit determines the successful bid price by excluding bid prices indicated in the plurality of pieces of bid information that fall outside the range set by the setting unit;
the setting unit sets the range of bid prices to a private state in which the range is not disclosed to bidders who provide the bid information, and if a successful bidder is not determined in the private state, sets the range of bid prices to a public state in which the range is disclosed to bidders.
3. A logistics matching system according to claim 1 or 2. the determination unit determines the bidder who has submitted the lowest bid price among the bid prices indicated in each of the plurality of pieces of bid information as the successful bidder;
3. A logistics matching system according to claim 1 or 2. the determination unit determines a successful bidder by determining that the bidder has bid an amount lower than the actual bid amount when the bidder's information satisfies a predetermined condition based on the information of the bidder providing the bidding information.
3. A logistics matching system according to claim 1 or 2. The logistics matching system of claim 8, wherein the bidder information includes at least one of the bidder's track record of past work orders, the number of times the bidder has won bids in the past, and safety management when the bidder performs the work. The information processing device
acquiring a plurality of pieces of bidding information for a request related to logistics;
determining a winning bid price that is higher than the lowest bid price indicated in each of the plurality of pieces of acquired bid information;
the determining step includes a step of determining the successful bid price using a first function when the number of bids for the request is less than a threshold, and determining the successful bid price using a second function different from the first function when the number of bids for the request is equal to or greater than the threshold ;
the first function is a function that excludes bid amounts outside a set range from among the bid amounts indicated in the plurality of pieces of bid information, identifies the lowest bid amount from among the remaining bid amounts, and determines this amount as the successful bid amount;
The second function is a function that, when M is an integer equal to or greater than 2, excludes bid amounts outside a set range from among the bid amounts indicated in the plurality of pieces of bid information, identifies the Mth lowest bid amount from among the remaining bid amounts, and determines this amount as the successful bid amount.
Logistics matching method. The information processing device
acquiring a plurality of pieces of bidding information for a request related to logistics;
determining a winning bid price that is higher than the lowest bid price indicated in each of the plurality of pieces of acquired bid information;
the determining step includes a step of determining the winning bid price by a first function when the successful bidder is determined before the successful bid price and when the information of the successful bidder does not satisfy a predetermined condition, and determining the winning bid price by a second function when the information of the successful bidder satisfies the predetermined condition;
the first function is a function that excludes bid amounts outside a set range from among the bid amounts indicated in the plurality of pieces of bid information, identifies the lowest bid amount from among the remaining bid amounts, and determines this amount as the successful bid amount;
The second function is a function that determines a winning bid price higher than the first function.
Logistics matching method. On the computer,
acquiring a plurality of pieces of bidding information for a request related to logistics;
determining a winning bid price that is higher than the lowest bid price indicated in each of the plurality of pieces of bid information that have been acquired;
the determining step includes a step of determining the successful bid price using a first function when the number of bids for the request is less than a threshold, and determining the successful bid price using a second function different from the first function when the number of bids for the request is equal to or greater than the threshold ;
the first function is a function that excludes bid amounts outside a set range from among the bid amounts indicated in the plurality of pieces of bid information, identifies the lowest bid amount from among the remaining bid amounts, and determines this amount as the successful bid amount;
The second function is a function that, when M is an integer equal to or greater than 2, excludes bid amounts outside a set range from among the bid amounts indicated in the plurality of pieces of bid information, identifies the Mth lowest bid amount from among the remaining bid amounts, and determines this amount as the successful bid amount.
program. On the computer,
acquiring a plurality of pieces of bidding information for a request related to logistics;
determining a winning bid price that is higher than the lowest bid price indicated in each of the plurality of pieces of bid information that have been acquired;
the determining step includes a step of determining the winning bid price by a first function when the successful bidder is determined before the successful bid price and when the information of the successful bidder does not satisfy a predetermined condition, and determining the winning bid price by a second function when the information of the successful bidder satisfies the predetermined condition;
the first function is a function that excludes bid amounts outside a set range from among the bid amounts indicated in the plurality of pieces of bid information, identifies the lowest bid amount from among the remaining bid amounts, and determines this amount as the successful bid amount;
The second function is a function that determines a winning bid price higher than the first function.
program.